Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd (Appellant) v The Scottish Ministers (Respondent) [2025] UKSC 16 on political parties’ use of all-women shortlists.

The Supreme Court Judgment was clear that for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, biological sex determines whether a person is a woman or not. Accordingly, in relation to the Equality Act 2010’s provisions allowing political parties to use all-women shortlists to increase the number of women standing for election, parties will need to have regard to the recent ruling. A political party wishing to use these Equality Act provisions will need to be satisfied that any such shortlists are lawful.